A bi-national coalition is hopeful US Congress will push back on proposed cuts to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
The Trump administration's 2018 budget calls for the elimination of $300-million in funding aimed at cleaning up and preserving area waterways.
Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative Executive Director David Ullrich says the cuts would be devastating.
"We have a lot of momentum on cleaning up toxic waste sites, restoring habitat for fish and wildlife and keeping invasive species out like Asian carp," says Ullrich. "This basically just takes away all of the tools that we have."
Ullrich says the Great Lakes have been at the heart of the area's economic recovery. The fishery industry alone is worth $7-billion annually.
He says the decision would needlessly risk the $5.8-trillion regional economy and the public health of the US and Canada.
He says the US government is also proposing massive cuts to the country's Environmental Protection Agency which would pose further threats.
